â€˜Gallery Girlsâ€™

When: 10 p.m. Mondays

Channel: Bravo

Starting Monday, a little slice of Orange County is going to appear on Bravo's new reality TV show, "Gallery Girls."

The series follows the lives of seven ambitious young women as they try to make their mark in the ultra-competitive world of the New York City gallery and art scene. It will air at 10 p.m. Mondays through the fall.

One of the girls, Angela Pham, was born and raised in Orange County. Another, Liz Margulies, lived here for three years.

Margulies, 25, resided in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa and loved her experience in Orange County.

"How could you not?" said the daughter of well-known art collector Martin Z. Margulies. "The weather is amazing. The weather, the beach, the air – it's refreshing and clean. I miss the air."

Liz Margulies, a student at New York's School of Visual Arts, attended classes at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo and worked at Fred's Mexican Café in Huntington Beach. She also spent time at Sober Living by the Sea in Newport Beach, recovering from a cocaine addiction.

In "Gallery Girls," Margulies is portrayed as the privileged girl who interns at Eli Klein Fine Art. She's the daughter of a wealthy, respected collector who doesn't want to do strenuous, physical work or ruin her outfit by painting walls or carrying artworks.

"I don't like every single scene (in the premiere), but that's how it goes," said the Miami native. "I agreed to do the show. In Eli's gallery, I did wind up picking up some paintings, but they cut a few little pieces out of that to make it look like I didn't want to work or get stuff on my outfit. But I was carrying paintings."

Pham, 24, was born in Anaheim and grew up in Yorba Linda. She attended Troy High School in Fullerton, Fairmont private school in Anaheim Hills and Travis Ranch School in Yorba Linda. For college, she attended New York University and received a specialized degree with study in photography and communications.

In "Gallery Girls," she is an aspiring photographer who does freelance shoots at social events, works at a restaurant and does some modeling gigs. She clearly doesn't have the highest opinion of her home turf.

"Orange County doesn't have the best reputation for diversity or culture or anything interesting," she says in the premiere of "Gallery Girls."

"I left Orange County because me and my friends were considered freaks and weirdos. One of the last things that I kinda want to do is surround myself by the types of girls that made me want to leave in the first place."

She backed away slightly from those statements during a recent interview. "I don't truly think Orange County is a cultural wasteland," she said. "Being the only Asian person in elementary school, I was different, and I felt like I didn't belong. Yorba Linda is more homogeneous. But I love things that were going on in the O.C."

In a scene that illustrates the cattiness and competitiveness of the New York art world, Pham and Margulies have a conversation about Orange County during the premiere of "Gallery Girls."

Pictured is the cast for Bravo's new reality TV series, "Gallery Girls." From left to right: Amy Poliakoff, Angela Pham, Maggie Schaffer, Kerri Lisa, Liz Margulies, Claudia Martinez and Chantal Chadwick. The season premiere of "Gallery Girls" airs at 10 p.m. Monday. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, BRAVO
Angela Pham, 24, was born in Anaheim and grew up in Yorba Linda. An aspiring photographer who now lives in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, she is one of the cast members of Bravo's new reality TV series, "Gallery Girls." The show airs at 10 p.m. Mondays. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, BRAVO
Angela Pham, 24, was born in Anaheim and grew up in Yorba Linda. An aspiring photographer who now lives in New York City, she is one of the cast members of Bravo's new reality TV series, "Gallery Girls." TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, BRAVO
Pictured is Liz Margulies of Grammercy, New York City. She spent three years living in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, going through drug rehab and working at Fred's in Huntington Beach. She will appear on Bravo's new reality TV series, Gallery Girls," starting Monday. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, BRAVO
Pictured is Liz Margulies of New York City. She spent three years living in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Her father is a noted art collector. She will appear on Bravo's new reality TV series, "Gallery Girls," at 10 p.m. Mondays. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, BRAVO
Angela Pham, left, socializes with Chantal Chadwick, center, and Liz Margulies in the premiere episode of "Gallery Girls" on Bravo. Pham and Margulies both lived in Orange County. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY DAVID GIESBRECHT, BRAVO
Angela Pham, right, of Yorba Linda, chats with friends Claudia Martinez, left, and Chantal Chadwick, middle, in an upcoming episode of "Gallery Girls." The Bravo reality TV series will air at 10 p.m. Mondays, starting Aug. 13. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY DAVID GIESBRECHT, BRAVO
Claudia Martinez, left, Chantal Chadwick and Angela Pham of Yorba Linda eye Liz Margulies and her friends with suspicion in an upcoming episode of "Gallery Girls" on Bravo. The reality TV series will air at 10 p.m. Mondays, starting Aug. 13. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY DAVID GIESBRECHT, BRAVO
In a scene from "Gallery Girls," Liz Margulies, left, listens to father Martin Margulies and gallery owner Eli Klein converse. Martin Margulies is a well-known art collector. Liz lived in Orange County for three years. TEXT BY RICHARD CHANG, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER; PHOTO BY DAVID GIESBRECHT, BRAVO

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